Seeking to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship.

Violence is rising in Mexico’s heroin capital, and it’s a sign of how ugly the fight against crime has gotten

Homicides in Mexico hit a four-year high in May, reaching 1,746, the most in a month so far during President Enrique Peña Nieto’s term and the most since September 2012.

While Mexico has felt the rising violence, some areas have been beset by more intense bloodshed.

Guerrero, the southwest state regarded as the capital of Mexico’s heroin trade, recorded the second-highest number of homicides in the country through May this year, and the state’s 163 organized-crime-related homicides in June were almost double what was recorded in other high-homicide states.